Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios announced that the free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game Neverwinter is coming to the Xbox One on March 31.

Neverwinter is set in Faerun, a continent in the Dungeons and Dragons-based world of Forgotten Realms. The deal is for Xbox Live Gold members and brings the adventure and lore of the renowned tabletop RPG to the Xbox One.

According to a release from Perfect World Entertainment, the game will include all of Neverwinter’s playable classes including the Scourge Warlock and the Tyranny of Dragons Expansion.

The release also details new features to optimize play for Xbox One gamers including friend list integration. The MMORPG is a port of the PC version, which released in June 2013.

Turtle Rock Studios’ new first-person action game Evolve plays like a strange version of hide-and-seek in emphasizing its asymmetrical, four-on-one gameplay.

The basic premise is that a group of the galaxy’s best hunters have banded together to protect human colonists on the planet Shear from the dangerous creatures inhabiting it. The game resolves the plot through a series of objective-based matches in which four players engage with a single player who is the monster.

The four players form a team of hunters and each hunter has its own job within the team. The Assault class is the team’s primary damage dealer, capable of dishing out punishment and shielding themselves in a pinch. Medics are responsible for keeping the team healthy. The Support Class does a bit of everything, ranging from damaging the monster to cloaking their companions. Trappers track the monster, cage it when it’s within range and litter the map with traps (as their name implies).

In the other corner is the monster. The player who controls the monster begins as a lowly creature with a few special abilities. However, monsters gain strength while killing and eating the surrounding wildlife in the level, causing them to — you guessed it — evolve.

The latest installment of Battlefield removes players from harsh international warzones and places them in a more domestic struggle. Hardline pits police against criminals in high-octane shootouts through the streets of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.

The beta features three modes. Conquest — where players attempt to control various bases in the area — makes its return. In addition, Hardline introduces two new game types in Heist and Hotwire.

In Heist, criminals attempt to break into a bank, steal money and transport the cash to a secure location while the cops try to prevent them from doing so. The game highlights the frenzy of Hardline as multiple players are drawn to just one or two points on the map.

The debate over the merits (or lack thereof) of video games has often mirrored the debate over marijuana — namely that both have been blamed for corrupting youth and leading to a stereotypically lazy, glassy-eyed populace of junk-food vacuums.

So when the two are combined, as they often are in dorm rooms and dens around the world, do they somehow enhance each others’ habit-forming qualities? Are these complementary pursuits really just a devil’s pact of mindless addiction?

I tried to find out as part of my High Scores column for The Denver Post’s marijuana website, The Cannabist, and answers were harder to come by than I had anticipated.

Earlier today, Bethesda Softworks, the developers behind The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, announced that The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 worldwide June 9.

Bethesda also announced that they will be dropping subscription charges from the game, allowing players unlimited access to the massively multiplayer online role-playing game for the base retail price.

Coming off the heels of the fiasco that was Halo: The Master Chief Collection, 343 Industries has released the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta for the holiday season and the beginning of 2015.

The first takeaway is that Halo 5: Guardians returns the series to its roots by placing power weapons, like sniper rifles and and rocket launchers, on the map rather than having them as perks for a high kill-count. The switch rectifies a common complaint with 343’s previous installment Halo 4, which to many players felt too similar to Call of Duty.

The simple change infuses the game’s multiplayer with that classic Halo strategy feel it lost in Halo 4, as map control is suddenly relevant.

The tournament will be broadcast on MLG.tv. It is the first time MLG will hold an event in Colorado.

“Our X Games debut was such a success we knew we had to continue the tradition,” MLG co-founder and CEO Sundance DiGiovanni said in a release. “The MLG X Games Aspen Invitational will further elevate eSports placing our top competitors amongst the best winter athletes in the world.”

Eight teams will be competiting in the event, including three from North America, three from Europe and one from Brazil. The total prize money is $50,000 with $25,000 going to first place, $12,500 to second, $7,500 to third, and $5,000 to fourth.

The bronze medal match takes place at 10 a.m. Jan. 25, and the gold medal match will start at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 25.

Competitive collegiate League of Legends? The University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Ky., announced it is launching a varsity e-sports program that will enter full competition in fall 2015.

The Bears will compete in the Collegiate Star League, an intercollegiate gaming league open to all accredited colleges and universities in North America. Pikeville is the second school to offer scholarships, joining Robert Morris, which began offering scholarships for League of Legends this past fall.

“In our research and interaction with gamers at this level, we learned that they are extremely competitive, but also hard workers, valuable team members and quite often have a high level of aptitude in using technology,” UPIKE President Dr. James L. Hurley said in a release.

Say what you will of “Freemium” games or free-to-play titles that include microtransactions for improved gear and added benefits, but Wargaming.net’s World of Tanks offers a great experience for the low, low price of nothing. With multiplayer matches that can hold up to 30 people and an extensive arsenal of British, German and American tanks to research and upgrade, World of Tanks offers plenty of content for players who choose to play completely for free. Of course, spending cash has its advantages but it’s not required for a good time.

A&E reporter John Wenzel has covered a variety of topics for The Denver Post over the years, including video games, comedy, music and the fine arts. He's been playing and loving video games since his dad brought home a sweet ColecoVision in 1983. Catch him on PSN as beardsandgum.

Hugh got his start writing for the Cheyenne and Woodmen Edition newspapers in Colorado Springs. In 2011 he moved to Denver where he has written for Denver Urban Spectrum and Colorado Community Media’s Wheat Ridge Transcript. Hugh joined The Denver Post in 2014 as an editorial assistant.

Bryan Moore joined The Denver Post sports department in 1997 and has worked in many phases of producing the daily sports section ever since, specifically focusing on coverage of the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and college football and basketball.